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(Conclusion) - How has the cultural diversity of Sham Shui Po changed over time?

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(Conclusion) - How has the cultural diversity of Sham Shui Po changed over time?

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After I have given you many examples of historical buildings around Hong Kong, I can conclude that architecture in Sham Shui Po district in Hong Kong has undergone tremendous changes from pre-colonial to post-colonial times. From a small village and a couple of temples in pre-colonial times to British colonial times, where ‘western’ architectural ideas were introduced into Hong Kong’s architecture, forming a mix of Chinese and Western building styles, which became a trend, and to post-colonial times, where population dramatically increased along with the need for new flats, forming western-styled apartments, which also showed the economic development in Sham Shui Po as expensive buildings are now on sale in Sham Shui Po, as people can actually afford it. This makes Sham Shui Po an extremely culturally diverse place architecturally, as there is a mix of old Chinese-styled tong lau’s, British/western-inspired historical buildings left over, and also new western-style apartments. Sham Shui Po is a mix of the three.

For food, I can also conclude that although British influence was strong, cuisine inside Sham Shui Po hasn’t really changed much, from the pre-colonial period to the post-colonial period. In the Colonial period, one example of the popular food at the time is doufuhua, made by the Kung Wo beancurd factory, to the post-colonial period, where traditional Chinese food, like dim sum, is made in the Tim Ho Wan restaurant. Of course, it is hard to find out what people in pre-colonial times ate (an accurate guess would probably be some rice or some bread), but throughout the years,, Chinese traditional food remains the main type of food Hong Kong people like to eat. This brings us to a conclusion, that although there are strong British influences on Hong Kong, British cultural influences aren’t evident in Sham Shui Po, as it still specialises in traditional Chinese food, which makes it a to-go place if you want to find traditional (and cheap) local Chinese food.

In summary, Sham Shui Po, has a mixture of both Chinese and western architecture, and is a very good place for traditional Chinese food lovers, as there are many cheap, but at the same time, delicious street food you can try. Sham Shui Po is definitely worth a visit!

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(Post-colonial) Tim Ho Wan - 9-11 Fuk Wing St, Sham Shui Po

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(Post-colonial) Tim Ho Wan - 9-11 Fuk Wing St, Sham Shui Po

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(Food) Dim Sum - Dim sum is a large range of small Chinese dishes typically enjoyed in teahouses in China and Hong Kong. Many call eating dim sum in a teahouse ‘yum cha’ in cantonese, with ‘yum’ meaning drink and ‘cha’ meaning tea, as dim sum is usually paired with tea in a teahouse.Tim Ho Wan is a Hong Kong dim sum restaurant chain that was founded in 2009 by Mak Kwai-pui (a former chef at three Michelin star restaurant Lung King Heen), which earned a michelin star. There are many Tim Ho Wan restaurants all around Hong Kong, but the first and most iconic one is in Sham Shui Po.

Dim Sum originated in guangdong before making its way to Hong Kong. Back then, teahouse owners would add dim sum to their offerings, which went through evolution and was turned into the practise ‘yum cha’ we know today in teahouses. The tea is as important as the food, in fact, it might be more important. The ‘Dim’ in Dim Sum means to gently touch, while the ‘sum’ means heart in cantonese. Some historians say that ‘dim sum’ means a small snack to ‘gently touch the heart’, but some contested, and said it meant gratitude to soldiers after war, when civilians will give buns and cakes to soldiers to show respect and gratitude, which, in Chinese was called dim dim sum yi (Cantonese pronunciation), which was later shortened to dim sum.

Tim Ho Wan showed the constant domination of traditional Chinese  culture (from pre-colonial to post-colonial) in the district of Sham Shui Po, although there isn’t much information about what people ate during pre-colonial times, but I assume it is still Chinese food, as it is impossible to have any western inspirations if the local people have little or no interaction with the western world. Although, there is some British (or western) influenced foods or a mix of both Chinese and British food, Sham Shui Po is still the to-go place if you want to find cheap and delicious local Hong Kong food.

Tim Ho Wan is still considered one of the cheapest places to try some nice and fresh local dim sum. Customers are constantly flowing in, and I don’t see a sign of a drop in customers.

When I was small, I often went there for a meal, as I really liked dim sum as a whole. For a really cheap price, you can get some good dim sum, which is quite nice.

Other media: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/uk/interactive-map/tim-ho-wan.html

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118 Pei Ho Street, 118 Pei Ho St, Un Chau, Hong Kong

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(Colonial) Kung Wo Beancurd factory - 118 Pei Ho Street, 118 Pei Ho St, Un Chau, Sham Shui Po

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(Colonial) Kung Wo Beancurd factory - 118 Pei Ho Street, 118 Pei Ho St, Un Chau, Sham Shui Po

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(Food) - Sweet Douhua- Douhua is a Chinese snack that can be made into sweet or savoury dishes. It is made with very tender tofu. There are different ways of serving (and calling it as well) this special food, but in Hong Kong, we usually add brown sugar, which makes it a popular Chinese dessert. The origin of doufuhua is unknown, but doufuhua was only popular in Hong Kong during the Colonial times, with the Kung Wo tofu factory being very popular (until now), because of its silky smooth and rich texture, and is basically the king of doufuhua in Hong Kong. The factory was built in 1960.

Doufuhua is derived from tofu, and Tofu was a Chinese cuisine that had originated in the Han dynasty.Liu An, the grandson of Emperor Gaozu of Han was ambitious and wanted to invent something to make people live forever. He failed, instead, he used soybean to create tofu, which was surprisingly delicious. China’s cultural spread to Hong Kong happened long ago, as Hong Kong was still a city/area in China.

Although we have absolutely no idea where tofu and the dish doufuhua came from, and we have absolutely no idea when tofu came to Hong Kong, under the British influence, traditional Chinese-styled foods are still the dominant style of food in Hong Kong, as the popular restaurants, like this one for example, still has signature dishes of Chinese food.

Personally, I haven't been to this place before, but as a person who grew up in Hong Kong, I really like tofu, and so I think this place will be perfect for me and you, if you are a tofu lover.

Other media:
https://hongkongfreetours.com/kung-wo-beancurd-factory/

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(Post Colonial) Manhattan Hill, Lai Chi Kok, Sham Shui Po district

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(Post Colonial) Manhattan Hill, Lai Chi Kok, Sham Shui Po district

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(Building) - Manhattan hill is a high-rise development located in the Lai Chi Kok (in the sham shui po district), The complex consists of five towers. Towers 1 and 2, are interconnected. The entire complex was developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties and was completed in January 2007.

As this is a building from the 21th century and is very new, it has undergone all of the cultural changes of buildings, from pre-colonial to post-colonial. The building isn’t any different from any generic modern apartment in the western world, which, after all of the research about pre and post colonial buildings, I believe is due to the british and also ‘western’ influence on Hong Kong’s buildings. Also, one more factor that might have changed everything is the rising population in Hong Kong (in general). Apartments built everywhere in Hong Kong, because of how many people can live in the apartments.

This building is modern Hong Kong apartment in a nutshell - small, but expensive. So I think, in a way, this also reflects the economical development of modern Sham Shui Po. Imagine, in a district where poverty and low income is prevalent, some would be able to afford to live in expensive apartments like Manhattan hill.

As I live near this building, I can see very busy markets around the area, which shows that many people live there. As of now, there are 1115 units for people to live in.

Other media - https://hk.centanet.com/estate/en/Manhattan%20Hill/2-EGPPWPPEPP

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(Colonial) Precious blood convent, Sham Shui Po, Sham Shui Po district

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(Colonial) Precious blood convent, Sham Shui Po, Sham Shui Po district

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(Building) Established in 1929, the Convent of the Precious Blood was built for the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious Blood.  Over the past seven decades, the convent building has not only served as a private residence and summer retreat house for the Precious Blood Sisters. They contributed to the well-being of Hong Kong society in the areas of education, social welfare and medical care. It was built in 1929, and part of it was converted to an orphanage. Not only that, but it provided free medical care (and even education) to the poor.

Convent of the Precious Blood was built for the Congregation of the Sisters of the Precious blood in 1929 after gaining independence from the Canossian Congregation. The canossian Daughters of charity was founded in 1808, in Verona, and went on a journey to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

The building itself was built during the British colonization times, which, again, means it had a western influence on Hong Kong architecture and culture (religion).  This is a very concrete example of this, as the building uses architectural characteristics from neoclassical periods, as we can see from its simple geometric shapes and columns. Additionally, the entrance of the convent had a cross on it - the cross that typically symbolizes Christianity. As Christianity is only ever so widespread among ‘western’ people, this shows the cultural diversity of Sham Shui Po.

Nowadays, the convent isn’t open to the public anymore, unfortunately. However, you can still take a look at its entrance and admire the beautiful architecture that there is to offer.

Other media: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/uk/interactive-map/precious-blood-convent.html

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(Colonial) Lui Seng Chun, Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po district

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(Colonial) Lui Seng Chun, Mong Kok, Sham Shui Po district

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(Building) - Lui Seng Chun is located at 119 Lai Chi Kok Road, in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, at the junction with Tong Mi Road.

In 1929, the Lui Leung family purchased the land of 119 Lai Chi Kok road from the English-colonized Hong Kong government, and invited Mr W. H. Bourne to build the building. 2 years later, in 1931, the building was built (although some sources say it was built in 1934). Mr Lui Leung, along with his brother, Mr William Louey, opened a Chinese medicine pharmacy on ground floor in their 4-storey building, as they were Chinese medicine specialists. The Lui family lived upstairs from the first floor to the fourth floor.

Mr Lui Leung’s Chinese medical pharmacy was widely popular at the time. After Mr. Lui Leung’s death in 1942, the building proceeded to become for-lease property for clothing shops.As the Lui family gained family members, they moved out to another place. Since then, no one was really living in the building, but the ground shop was still functional.

The architecture characteristics of this buildings is what makes it so special. As it was designed and built by western architect W. H. Bourne, it contained western features. The architect combined modern architectural trends with ancient Italian architecture, as he used characteristic Italian Architecture such as the ‘baluster’, which is a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. The architect also borrowed some ancient greek architecture, as you can see by the vertical columns in the entrance of the building. He fused western with Chinese architecture, like tong lau (a sort of shophouse). This kind of Chinese-western integration of architectural styles was very popular back then, another example of British influence on Hong Kong's architecture.

Today, the pharmacy store on ground floor in the building is a non-profit organization-ran Chinese medicine clinic, that is still popular today.

Other media:
https://www.aab.gov.hk/filemanager/aab/common/historicbuilding/en/845_Appraisal_En.pdf

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(Colonial) - Lai Chi Kok Hospital, Lai Chi Kok, Sham Shui Po district

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(Colonial) - Lai Chi Kok Hospital, Lai Chi Kok, Sham Shui Po district

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(Building)- The former Lai Chi Kok Hospital (now called the Jao Tsung I Academy), located at No.800 Castle Peak Road, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, was listed as one of the Grade III historic buildings in Hong Kong on 24 June 2010.

In the 19th century, the hospital first served as a labourer’s dormitory for an English-funded company called ‘The Chamber of Mines Labour Importation Agency’, but shortly after that, because the labourers were too tired to work every single day, they plotted a rebellion against the company. Because of that, the company stopped recruiting labourers, and it was abandoned, until 1912. In 1924, it became an internment camp in Lai Chi Kok, which it served its purpose until 1937 when Stanley prison was constructed.

In the same year, hospital systems were on the cusp of collapse, after Hong Kong declared itself as an epidemic zone under the spread of smallpox - so the government rebuilt this building as a hospital for infectious diseases, which it earned its name from. After the outbreak, it served as a psychiatric hospital, specifically for patients with a psychiatric disease called leprosy. after the closure of Hei Ling Chau leprosy hospital, providing rehabilitation services for the half-treated patients in the Hei Ling Chau hospital.

Other than the history of the building, we have to focus on the architectural and cultural aspect of the building. Because of the British influence in Hong Kong at the time ( and also the building was built under an English-funded company), it has references to the victorian building style, which the British buildings also used. The building style involved generally small windows and had walls of white concrete, with a brick roof. There is a patent difference between small cottages in Sam Tung Uk and this. This also reminds us of the history of Hong Kong, how the people suffered, how the government tried to tackle the widespread disease - smallpox, around Hong Kong. Hence, it is listed as Hong Kong’s one of the Grade III historical buildings.

Nowadays, the site has now been transformed into Jao Tsung-I Academy, as a part of the government revitalization scheme, in order to honour what Hong Kong University Professor Jao Tsung-I's efforts to sinology in Hong Kong.

I live next to this building, and it takes me about 10-15 minutes to walk there from my home. The history shown inside the academy was very interesting, and also, the structure also had a resort-like section.

Other media: https://www.aab.gov.hk/filemanager/aab/common/historicbuilding/en/845_Appraisal_En.pdf

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Kwan Tai Temple, Hoi Tan Street, Sham Shui Po

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(Pre-colonial) Kwan Tai Temple, Hoi Tan Street, Sham Shui Po, Sham Shui Po district

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(Pre-colonial) Kwan Tai Temple, Hoi Tan Street, Sham Shui Po, Sham Shui Po district

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(Building) - Before any history was made and before British rule, Sham Shui Po only had a village called Sham Shi Po, and the rest of the district was just rural farmlands on top of fertile soil and an alluvial plain, so the Kwan Tai temple was the only remarkable historical building during the pre-colonial period, before the British colonization of Sham Shui Po in 1898.  Reconstructed in 1891, it was the only place of worship in Kowloon. Inside the temple, there was a small shelter for visitors to enjoy the stunning view of the sea in Kowloon. Unfortunately, after reclamation, you can only see the land within Kowloon nowadays if you visit the temple.

This temple was built in the middle of the Qing dynasty, but its exact year and date remain unknown now. However, we do know that the latest reconstruction (when we discovered the temple) was in 1891. The temple is built for the brave warrior and the god of war - Kwan Yu, thanking him for his blessings.

In my opinion, focusing on the architectural side of the temple, it, of course, contained a lot of Chinese architecture (because it is a Chinese temple and was built in the Qing dynasty, where there was little to no interaction with the western world). In the temple, you will see traditional Lingnan architecture, which includes the use of doors, moisture-resistant brick walls. Other features include divine sculptures, a giant bronze bell and a crescent blade (which the god of war is holding). This also shows the religion people used to follow in the pre-colonial period of Hong Kong. Before the British influence, only Chinese religions such as Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism were common among the people in Hong Kong, as only temples were seen in the main metropolitan areas within Sham Shui Po.

Like many temples in Hong Kong, people (even people who are not religious), will go to visit temples and pray for god’s blessing.

For me, I haven't been to this place yet, but I have been to other temples in Hong Kong, to pray for academic success (in the Man Mo temple in Sheng Wan), etc.

Other media:
Temple -
https://www.np360.com.hk/en/attraction/kwan-tai-temple

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Aerial view of Sham Shui Po neighbourhood at night

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(Introduction) - Where is Sham Shui Po District

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(Introduction) - Where is Sham Shui Po District

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Before we go and explore Sham Shui Po, there are 3 questions that we need to answer:
1. What is culture?
Culture is the characteristics, (such as art, literature, language), knowledge, behaviours and beliefs of one particular group of people.
2. What influences culture
Environmental changes and interactions with other cultures will influence and drive a particular culture. For example, Buddhism wasn't a thing in China, until they discovered their neighbours, India. Since then, Buddhism kind of embedded in Chinese culture.
3. What processes affect cultural diversity?
Colonization in a particular place could be an example. For example, in Hong Kong, the British influence has led to greater cultural diversity in its food and architecture. We are going to look into this.

Where is Sham Shui Po?
Sham Shui Po district in Hong Kong is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, located in the northwestern part of the Kowloon peninsula. It is the poorest district in Hong Kong but is also very densely packed. The discovery of the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb is an indication of the settlement of Chinese people during the Han dynasty, which sends us back 200 years ago.

Sham Shui Po is one of the earliest developed areas in Hong Kong, however, it is facing serious urban decay, which may lead to a dysfunctioning neighbourhood in Sham Shui Po, so the government is carrying out urban renewal projects. It is considered one of the most, if not the most culturally diverse place in Hong Kong. It was also an important place for manufacturing industries when the manufacturing industries were thriving in Hong Kong. Textiles, electronics, toys, clothes, etc. are made.

I live in the Sham Shui Po district, in the Mei Foo neighbourhood, and I think Sham Shui Po is the core of the culture of old Hong Kong. Navigate around the map, and I will show you the different cultural features within Sham Shui Po!

Colour codes:
Red- Introduction
Yellow - Pre-colonial
Pink - Colonial
Blue - Post-colonial
Green - Conclusion